No, I’m not talking about the website, what I’m talking about happens at the end of every semester, usually, where students take a moment to rate their professor as part of class evaluations. You know the drill, answer questions like how effective were their lessons and did they provide timely feedback, etc, etc. Whether your professor was as serious as Severus Snape or as cool as Einstein, I think that most students brush off this time at the end of the semester to fill in the bubbles as if it were a race, not caring which answers they choose, or some of the creative students will fill in bubbles to create patterns or spell out words (see below). Even though, some instructors are tenured and hold a positive reputation where evaluations may seem useless, evaluations – a student’s opinion on their professor – still count.

Photo by Adam Heenan/Washington Post

Count towards what? What the heck does a review of your professor do anyways? Professors look over these reviews and most of them will take the reviews into consideration when the next semester of classes come. What if you didn’t like that book, or the required text was outdated? Be sure to make a note of it in the review so the next semester, the professor can change things around.

Not all professors will be so receptive to change. Some professors have been teaching so long, their system is a finely tuned machine meant to serve students with what they, the instructors, believe to be the best methods for their class to learn. But even the most respected instructors on campus could appreciate feedback because honestly, who doesn’t like to read what others think of them? They may not make major changes to their lesson plan or teaching practices but perhaps they can make minor adjustments.

Leaving a review of your professor doesn’t always mean leaving hateful, scathing remarks just because you got a bad grade. If you didn’t like how your professor taught then why did you stay in the class so long? If you didn’t like your professor because they were just mean and overly strict, you could have dropped or taken a W, which is better than a failing grade. Instead of leaving hateful unhelpful comments, you can head on over to Chegg’s very own Course Reviews section and leave a thoughtful comment. These comments not only help the professor iron out the kinks in their class but can also prove to be very useful for other students looking to take classes. A tough-grading teacher shouldn’t automatically mean a bad review.

Review your professor and let them know what works and what doesn’t. Stop yourself from being too aggressive and don’t just rant because that doesn’t help. Even if the professor’s teaching style was amazing, let them know, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

One Comment

[…] A big part of college is learning, but an even bigger part is growing our social and professional networks. Like that old saying, it’s not what you know but who you know. A good friend of mine had no work experience in the past 22 years of his life but was able to get a job this summer because he had a connection within the company he works at now. The same could happen for anybody, as long as you have the right connections. Professors can be those connections, and if anything, they’re a valuable connection because they’re professional connections, at least, most of us would put our favorite instructors down as a professional reference. If you really like your professor, be sure to rate him at the end of the semester too, it helps! […]